with death for the sake of the lives of his fellow men. Another mutilates the sacred hand of the infant for the sake of its gold ring. A mother intrusts her children, one after the other, to the flood, hoping the reeling plank may save them, but believing that, whether or not, they are safe with God. In the midst of the kingdom of death, another mother brings a new life into the world. An officer of the guard profanes the awful day with maudlin drunkenness. A population sees the accumulation of life-*times, and half its own members, annihilated in one desperate hour, and it is silent because silence is the only complete expression of misery. And over all the continent, upon converging lines, are journeying the tangible proof of sympathy from a nation which hastens to acknowledge the indestructible brotherhood of man.
(1455)
HUMANE SENTIMENT
An incident showing the growth of the
humane sentiment is told in connection with
the recent Paris flood. Upon one occasion
great crowds gathered on the banks of the
Seine at a point where what appeared to be
a man, but which turned out to be a pig,
that had been carried out of its sty by the
flood, was making a struggle for life. After
humane bystanders had manned a boat, rescued
the animal, and brought it to shore, one
woman declared she could not think of allowing
it to be saved from drowning only
to be butchered, and offered to purchase it
from its owner for $38. After securing the
animal, the problem was to get it to its new
quarters, and this she solved by buying a
collar, to which she attached a rope to be
used as a leader. In her promenade as a
pig-leader she was assisted by a great crowd,
who jested and jeered, and finally the pig
was installed in his new home. Our fore-*fathers
who engaged in pig-sticking by way
of sport would doubtless be amazed if told
that the time would ever come when people
in a flood-plagued city would not only rescue
a drowning pig, but save it from the butcher's
knife.—Vogue.
(1456)
Humble Helpers—See Interdependence.
Humble Helpers Remembered—See Negro
"Mammy" Remembered.
HUMBLE WORK
One of Beethoven's most famous concertos
was suggested to the composer as he
heard repeated knocks in the stillness of the
night at the door of a neighbor. The concerto
begins with four soft taps of the drum—an
instrument which is raised in this work
to the rare dignity of a solo instrument.
Again and again the four beats are heard
throughout the music, making a wonderful
effect. God uses even the humblest player in
His orchestra for some solo work. A man
who can only play a drum can be made valuable
in the music of the world. Let us be
ready to do what He bids us, modest and
obscure as our part may be, and thus we
shall help on the harmonies of heaven.
(Text.)
(1457)
HUMDRUM DEVELOPMENT
The Rev. Charles Stelzle writes this lesson from the experience of the yard engineer:
"Go ahead; that'll do; back up; a little
more. That'll do." A yard crowded full of
freight-cars that needed to be shifted and
shunted—this is the work and the vision that
daily greet the "driver" of the switch-engine.
He is shut off from the scenery and the romance
which the engineer of the lightning
express is supposed to enjoy. He sees little
besides the waving arms or the swinging
lantern of the switchman. He hears little
besides the screaming of slipping wheels, the
bumping of freight-cars, the hissing of the
escaping steam and the monotonous voice of
his fireman repeating the orders signaled
from his side of the cab.
But how typical of life it all is. There is no one entirely free from the humdrum and the monotone. And this seems to be well, for drudgery is one of life's greatest teachers. The humdrum duties of life develop character. It is because we have certain duties to perform every day, in spite of head-*ache, heartache and weariness, that we lay the foundation of character.
(1458)
Humiliation—See Bargain-making; Timidity.
Humiliation, Light in—See Light in Humiliation.
HUMILITY
Dr. Franklin, writing to a friend, says:
The last time I saw your father he received
me in his study, and, at my departure, showed
me a shorter way out of his house, through
a narrow passage, crossed by a beam over-*head.
We were talking as we withdrew, and
I, turning partly toward him, he suddenly
